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Madison’s CIP Planning Pushes On

What capital projects the town is willing to undertake in a fiscal year is always a subject of great debate in the budget process. For the past few months, the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and the town Finance Department have compiled department requests for projects and begun to sort through what project can and need to be done this year and the next few years. However, as in prior years, deciding which projects to move forward is proving to be no simple task.

The annual capital needs of the town—which includes spending on things like fire and police vehicles or major building, field, or road maintenance—are compiled in the CIP and voted on in the budget referendum each year. The CIP program is designed to create one comprehensive planning document for all of the town and public school’s capital needs for the next five years and evaluate possible funding options. The CIP Committee is a subcommittee of the Board of Finance (BOF).

The CIP includes numerous items, categorized by annual expenses, such as roadwork and vehicle replacement, and the Capital and Nonrecurring Expenditures (CNRE) fund, which includes projects such as one-time facilities improvements. The CIP is listed in the town side of the budget, though it may contain items for the schools.

For items to end up in the CIP, departments submit requests to the Finance Department; requests are then complied and sent to the first selectman. The first selectman then considers the projects along with the BOS, prioritizes them, and eliminates those he does not wish to recommend, and then the remaining projects are sent forward to the CIP for further review.

At a CIP and BOS workshop meeting on Nov. 30, the board and a few committee representatives reviewed and debated what projects the first selectman and BOS want to see listed for this year to be considered by the CIP committee and then the BOF. During the meeting, the board highlighted 13 projects in the CNRE with a total value of roughly $2 million for serious consideration this year. Projects considered include Brown Middle School electrical renovations, maintenance garage office improvements and expansion, geothermal work, and Strong Center items.

The selectmen struggled prioritizing certain projects and deciding what can actually be done in a given year considering wider financial considerations like the state budget and the overall town operating budget. First Selectman Tom Banisch said part of the challenge is that the program is almost like a project wish list for departments and that there should be more emphasis on what is needed, rather than desired.

“I would rather see what really needs to be done,” he said. “There is our reality in the state and there has already been a cut and there is more to come, so we have to also always have an eye on that because moving forward we can have great ambitions, but our cash position is going to be eaten up by what we don’t get from the state.”

Part of the problem in the discussions was also at what level capital should be funded this year and year over year to keep the program level in regards to increases. Trying to keep the program stable means everyone needs to focus on the fact that the CIP is a five-year plan, not a one-year plan. Finance Director Stacy Nobitz said looking long term—even over 10 years—helps strategize funding over the years and protects the capital fund from turning into a one-year slush fund that just gets filled and emptied each year.

“I am saying [a plan] will solve a lot of problems,” she said. “I hate that you are just looking at fiscal 2018-’19 because then it is not a five-year plan.”

Selectman Bruce Wilson said looking closely at just this year has to be a priority now because of the committee timeline.

“I am OK with it because we are up against deadlines,” he said. “What we really have to do is a town and as this board is the budget work really has to start in July.”

The discussions continued at the BOS meeting on Dec. 4 and are expected to continue over the coming weeks. Check back for updates.